Where's your Intent?

You may find this surprising but I did not come to such marketing genius on my own :). Along with the other two Divas, there are many people who I look to for guidance and counsel - one of them being Bryan Neale. He's a sales/life coach here in Indy. ...and get this, he believes if your "intent" is right and you are truly focused on helping others, then good things will come. I love this concept and fits in with who I am. So I guess today will be brief - this is an intent check. When you talk to your first prospect, up or client today, where's your head? Are you thinking of how much you can gross on a deal or moving aged inventory or are you thinking of the person standing in front of you and how they need help? If it's the latter people know it, and in my opinion all the sales tricks & motivation in the world don't stack up to someone who is an expert in their field and genuinely wants to do what's best for their client. ...even if sometimes that's saying - I don't think I can help you.

We bought a Truck!

Yes, this isn't extremely noteworthy to most of you, but it is to us. Previous to the recent purchase we were a two small car family. Andy's Altima really could only fit two people, so we were more like a car and a half family. 18 mos ago we bought our dream house on a large lot, at the time it was basically .75 acres of poison ivy, weeds and buried treasure. 18 mos ago Andy was using a cooler with wheels on it to haul dirt and we were calling my parents weekly to make the hour long drive so we could use their truck to haul all the crap away. So to me, buying this truck was a bit of a turning point for us...well the truck and the wheelbarrow! We are becoming grown ups, we're now favoring function over image and common sense over everything that comes before it :) That's not to say my husband didn't end up with a bad ass truck (it even has remote start!), but I did see the 17 year old in him die a little bit that day as he traded in his sporty ride. Ok, now on to the post that actually has some content...how we bought the truck.

What I loved about our experience:

• Our salesperson was friendly. Even though I work with car dealers every day I'm still a bit nervous walking into a dealership.
• He assessed quickly and found a specific vehicle for us. He got the basics and then selected the vehicle for us, instead of us meandering around the lot. This is the first time I've had that type of experience and it was quick & easy. Nice.
• The test drive wasn't scary. He didn't talk the whole time, he didn't say things like "this baby would be great for bringing home a Christmas Tree next weekend," we talked about our dogs and I asked if a car seat would fit in the back (don't get any ideas-I'm just a planner!).
• When we got back to the lot he stayed in the vehicle with us and pointed out all the features and how they work. I've now purchased 5 vehicles in my life and never has anyone done this. Sounds so simple, but wow, it had me asking what else my car can do that I don't know about!
• We sat down to talk numbers and it was laid back. We weren't ready that night (we were hungry & it was late), so the saleperson suggested we take the truck home for the weekend to make sure it fit in our garage (a concern we brought up on the test drive). I realize this is a "tactic" in the car industry but it worked well on us. I was concerned it wouldn't fit in our 1950s garage, but it did. And lucky for the dealership, our neighbors had to come by and tell Andy how nice looking his new truck was.
• We kept our appointment Monday evening and bought the vehicle.
• Tuesday morning my insurance agent called to let me know our salesperson had already contacted him about our trade ins and the new vehicle. He had already written our new policy. THIS WAS SO HUGE! If dealers aren't doing this they should be. I know it's only one phone call but it's one I would have put off forever and dreaded dealing with.

What could have gone better:

• Financing. Not the F&I guy, I freaking loved him, just the process. I had offered earlier in the day to get info to them to get everything started and he had me wait until we got there. Customers with good credit would so much prefer to just walk in, sign and drive off. Instead we were there for an hour and a half waiting for our turn...
• Collecting info for the dealer. Before the demo he got Andy's license and logged us in, didn't ask for email or PHONE! Asked what brought us in, and then said "I'll just click newspaper" you can imagine how that made me feel! We were compeletly willing to go through the steps, if he only would have asked.

Trash Cans & Dog Treats

Last summer Andy and I moved to a new home in Indianapolis. This is the first time I've ever actually lived "in town." We live on a fairly busy road and a phenomena I've been previously unfamiliar with began immediately after we moved in...SALESPEOPLE! ...don't get me wrong, the Kirby guy, neighborhood kids peddling candy bars & wrapping paper, and the home alarm people had all visited our suburban neighborhood...but at the new house it's a whole new variety! Tree trimmers, lawn guys, asphalt dudes, gutter cleaners, etc., etc. all stop by to offer their services. We've never hired one. Today I just wanted to share with you a story of fantastic customer service and making a connection with your customer...a connection that has led us to turn away every lawn "gypsie" at the door.

We do have a lawn guy, and previously did not-so we were on the hunt for one.

We asked our neighbor for a referral and she has been so pleased with his service that she recommended Jerry.

Jerry did all the "right things," returned calls, gave us a fair quote quickly, and followed up--we hired him immediately following Andy's first (and only) 3 hour attempt at mowing the yard with our miniature push mower.

These are honestly things I expect, but consider to be good customer service compared to the different levels of service we all encounter daily. The reasons we pay a little more and are happy to stay with Jerry (amidst all the "stop bys" offering to do the same job much cheaper) are these:

• He takes pride in our yard. He realizes it is a reflection of his work and therefor cuts most the yards on our road. He blows the grass off our drive, sidewalk and even gets the leaves and debris off the front porch.
• He knows us. We're typically at work when he comes, and I've probably had 3 conversations ever with him, but he remembers we have one big dog and one puppy...so he leaves big & little treats in the mailbox. He also keeps track of important events we have coming up and comes as close to mow on those days so the yard looks its best.
• He helps us. When he comes on trash day, which is typical, Jerry pulls the trash cans up our long steep drive to the garage...which Andy particularly appreciates because there is no way I ever do it after work in heels! Jerry also recommends other trusted professionals to help with our other needs.
• And finally...he's NICE!

The moral of the story is to just remind us all that exceptional customer service & consultation is what brings customers back, and causes them to send their friends to us! I'd love to hear who has provided you superior customer service lately and why they stand out--leave a comment!

Penny loves Jerry too (and his puppy treats)! ...and yes sometimes I just find excuses to put photos of my dogs in the blog!

Final Post: Automotive Dealer Sales Training Tips Interview with Todd Hudak

After hearing about Todd and checking out his video, some of you might be wondering if he can help you. The final question I asked him was: Q. What type of dealer are you looking to help? A. I've trained in Bentley & Rolls Royce dealerships, all domestics, most imports--basically the product doesn't matter and the size of the dealership doesn't matter. There are some things I look for to be sure I can bring some value to a dealership before wasting their time or money. They have to be willing to learn and willing to make changes. If not, there is no reason to have me in. It's also nice if they have some kind of CRM and a workable BDC set up. Really the best relationships I've formed have been with dealers that are willing to embrace change and understand that change is a long term growth plan and not a quick idea of the month club. If anyone wants to contact me the best way to reach me is typically by email or cell as I travel all over the country. I can do individual dealership consulting, or they could attend my upcoming phone skills training program if they feel that's an area for improvement at their dealerships. The December phone skills session is now fully booked, but we're currently taking reservations for the January session. Contact Info: Todd Hudak Hudak Consulting Cell phone: (859) 992-4166 Email: todd@hudakconsulting.com Website: http://www.hudakconsulting.com/

Automotive Dealer Sales Training Tips #3 Interview with Todd Hudak

Today I wanted to touch on a simple, yet powerful concept that Todd kept bringing up in our conversation. It isn't anything formal, and it's really pretty much common sense. Todd kept saying "there are really only three ways to get someone to do something." Now, of course he was talking about motivating/coaching your sales staff. He talked about this in regards to tracking leads, and the lead source, but it really works across the board. #1 Ask them nicely. Todd has a feeling that this is typically pretty ineffective in dealerships. In my experience if you ask nicely and explain WHY this method can work with the right people. However... I can relate, my only "child" at the moment is Charley. She'll be 5 in May and is a Retriever/Husky mix. I've had her for three years now and she's never been one to get up on the couch or furniture. Lately though, she's getting pretty snooty and feels like she rules the roost and she's constantly on the couch--in my spot at that! I started out by asking nicely, and a few times it's worked...then I had to move on to the next way of getting someone to do something... #2 Threaten them. Threatening seems dangerous. For one thing, people will only take so much of it, and you have to be ready to follow through on the threat. Obviously, it is sometimes hard to communicate effectively with Charley. Although I'm pretty sure she can understand English she has selective hearing. We'll threaten to throw her Kong toy away, or Andy will threaten to "punch her in the dog face" but we never follow through. She knows she's spoiled and we're not going to punish her--besides, what's the worst I could do--yell? I can't fire my dog. #3 Pay them. I'm technically in sales, and so are most of you, even if you aren't involved in it as much daily. Obviously we all understand that commission based income is the most pure form of this last method. Todd argues this is the most effective way to get things done in a dealership, and I would have to agree. He talks about paying receptionists to find out lead sources, hiring someone on minimal hourly rates and paying bonuses for every lead they count, he's even had one of these people watch for people leaving the lot without coming into the show room--then he would fine the sales person that lost them $150--and give it to the counter! Sales contests, spiffs, bonuses, etc. these are all forms of rewarding people for the behavior you are trying to get from them. Start thinking about the things you wish were happening that aren't within your department, company, or dealership. How can you turn each of these things into specific behaviors that can then be broken down and rewarded upon? Charley could care less about a $5 bill, but she loves treats, people food, and one specific toy. If I make it worth her while to stay on the floor she typically stays out of my spot on the couch. This has also been the way we've taught her all of her impressive tricks, like shake, high ten, speak, and lay down. Andy has also figured out a way to get her to bark the O-H-I-O chant with him during football games...now I just have to find the right reward to get her to say "Boiler Up."

Automotive Dealer Sales Training Tips #2 Interview with Todd Hudak

Continuing where we left off last time, more of the interview with Automotive Sales Training Todd Hudak...

Q. Let's get specifically to one of your specialties, phone training. What is the biggest opportunities dealers are missing in regards to incoming calls?

A. Most are missing two very important things, what influenced them to call, and they aren't gathering enough information. NADA says if a dealer gets 100 phone calls they are closing 3-4% of them--and that's if they are doing a "good" job. That's 96 missed opportunities. There are several things dealerships should be focusing on when it comes to incoming calls:

1. Why they called. In a lot of stores I suggest the receptionist handle this. When he/she answers the phone it is simple to as "Is this your first time calling or are you currently working with someone? Fantastic, what influenced you to give us a call today?" Again, give them a spiff on it--$.50 for every lead source they get. Then the person is logged and it's noted what sales person takes the call.

2. Be accountable. If one person is in charge of logging who calls then a dealer can start to get a grasp on how much phone traffic is truly coming in. They can start running numbers on what sales people are turning calls into handshakes and what ones are missing opprortunities and have areas for improvement. This information, along with the marketing info on what brought them in is invaluable. But the most important part is increasing the closing ratio.

3. Set a solid and specific appointment. Many sales people I've talked to bombard with information. The goal is not to sell a vehicle on the phone, the goal is to have a set appointment with specific info so that the dealership can be prepared for the appointment. I say a lot, "chance favors the prepared mind," it's not just chance if someone buys, a lot has to do with being prepared. So many sales people treat an appointment like a walk in! It's crazy! They know the person and why they are coming in, they should be given the red carpet treatment. Several vehicles should have already been picked out and checked up on, they should already know why the person is coming in. The dealership has invited this person to their "party" at this point, be sure they aren't disappointed when they show up.

We'll wrap up this three part series next time. Below is a quick video in which Todd gets into some of these ideas a little more specifically.

Automotive Dealer Sales Training Tips Part #1 Interview with Todd Hudak

I was introduced to Todd Hudak over two years ago by a mutual dealer client. It seemed Todd had been helping this client with sales and phone training for several years and they were very happy with the results he's helped them achieve. Recently, here at Tri-Auto we've been putting tracking tools into dealers hands, it's been a very eye opening experience both for me and the dealers. Many are saying "I didn't know we had that many people coming in, why aren't we closing more?" I've never sold cars, so I don't have the answers, but Todd has so I contacted him for an interview. Hopefully you'll be able to take something away from this three part series that will help increase your closing ratio. First, a little background. Todd was a Mechanical Engineer for years with the Navy, his first experience in sales came as a Navy Recruiter where he signed up 4 times the average amount of young people to serve. After running several local and regional recruiting centers and taking them all to the #1 spot he decided to retire. As he looked in the paper for new opportunities he saw "Day Off, Draw & Demo" he walked into the first dealership and was hired on the spot, after two years he was the number one sales person averaging 100 new units a year and had several 500 unit years. In '99 the dealer asked him to start a BDC, and by the end of the year the new venture had tripled sales from 89-100 vehicles a month to 300! After getting his feet wet with this experience he was hired by the McCluskey group in Ohio and took the Chevrolet store to the #1 volume dealer in the state. He was awarded the Dealer Innovation Award for 2003 for recruiting, retention and training (of sales people), and featured in NADA and USA Today. The retention rate on his sales floor was 85%. In 2006 he went out on his own and founded Hudak Consulting. He's worked with over 500 dealers, including the famed Towbin group featured in A&E's "King of Cars," and in the past year he's trained over 60,000 sales people. In his lengthy career Todd has proved he knows how to make a dealership successful. This week Todd answered a few questions regarding training and phone training. We started off with a few general ideas about what dealers are facing today.

Q. In your opinion, what is the biggest issue facing the automotive industry today--and you can't say the economy?

A. The perception is with the poor economy that people are not buying cars. Which is just not the case, yes it is tougher, but people are still spending money. The problem is that dealers are getting sucked into a bad attitude, with the market being tougher they are not performing at the same level as they were when times were good. They are doubling their misery instead of looking for new alternatives. Instead of going back to what made them successful in the past and looking for new ways to be successful in the future they are giving up and playing flag football in the back, or cutting costs by removing the popcorn machine from the showroom. This is not the way to get ahead.

The other major thing they need to be focusing on is maximizing the advertising they are able to put out there. At the very least they should be hitting their database, even if it's stuffing envelopes and sending out letters in house, or picking up the phone and talking to them. If they are able to continue with more advertising they have to get everything they can out of it. TRACK everything. If dealers are not able to track in an electronic way, hire a retiree and pay him hourly to track every lead that comes in, pay him an additional $1 for every lead source he uncovers-I promise he won't miss a person. Once they know what is working it makes sense to put more money there and quit doing the things that aren't. I do like mail, and I'm not just saying that because I'm talking to you, but it's personal and I have TIVO, Sirius and don't subscribe to a newspaper so it's down to email & my mailbox if you want to reach me. If dealers do a mailer, they should request phone numbers, where available, on the list. Then have their salespeople on the phone before, during and after the sale making sure they received the piece and asking if they have questions. Dealers are not maximizing the money they've invested in advertising. They just put it out there and hope, then wait for traffic.